Kyle Thomas (born 23 June 1983) is a Canadian screenwriter, director, producer, and actor. His first feature film, ''

The Valley Below ''The Valley Below'' is a Canadian dramatic film, released in 2014. The feature film debut of filmmaker Kyle Thomas,

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...

in 2014. It garnered two

Canadian Screen Award The Canadian Screen Awards (french: link=no, Les prix Écrans canadiens) are awards given for artistic and technical merit in the film industry recognizing excellence in Canadian film, English-language television, and digital media (web series) p ...

nominations in the categories of Best Supporting Actor for Kris Demeanor and Best Original Song for

Dan Mangan Daniel Mangan (born April 28, 1983) is a Canadian musician. He has won two Juno awards and has toured extensively throughout North America, Europe and Australia, having released 5 studio LPs and numerous EPs and singles. He has scored for feature ...

's "Wants"."Canadian Screen Awards Unveil Nominations"
''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'', 13 January 2015. The film received largely positive reviews from the Canadian media, including ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'' and the ''

National Post The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper available in several cities in central and western Canada. The paper is the flagship publication of Postmedia Network and is published Mondays through Saturdays, with ...

'', who called the film a "superb first feature".

Early life and education

Thomas was born in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, and raised in

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

. He began making films with the

Calgary Society of Independent Filmmakers The Calgary Society of Independent Filmmakers was formed in 1978 and is operated on a non-profit basis out of Calgary, Alberta in Canada. Four decades ago, twelve local filmmakers and artists collaborated to form the Society of Filmmakers in resp ...

in his teenage years before attending

Concordia University Concordia University ( French: ''Université Concordia'') is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University, Concordia is one of the t ...

Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema The Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema, a division of the Faculty of Fine Arts at Concordia University, is a film school located in Montreal, Quebec. Informally known as MHSoC, the school accepts around 250 students a year for programs in animation, ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

in the early 2000s. After completing his BFA, he returned to Calgary to establish the North Country Cinema media arts collective in 2005.

Career

Directing and producing

Thomas is a founding member of North Country Cinema, along with filmmakers Alexander Carson and Nicholas Martin, whom he met at the

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

. Through North Country Cinema, Thomas has focused on producing director-driven film and video content, and has created award-winning works that have screened at major international festivals, including the

and

SXSW South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Te ...

. Thomas' recent films have portrayed neo-realist narratives concerned with intimate, personal stories depicting life in rural

. Following the announcement that his first feature film

The Valley Below ''The Valley Below'' is a Canadian dramatic film, released in 2014. The feature film debut of filmmaker Kyle Thomas,

would be funded by

Telefilm Canada Telefilm Canada is a Crown corporation reporting to Canada's federal government through the Minister of Canadian Heritage. Headquartered in Montreal, Telefilm provides services to the Canadian audiovisual industry with four regional offices in V ...

, he was declared one of "10 Canadians to Watch at Cannes" in 2013.

Acting work

Thomas plays the role of Danny in North Country Cinema's second feature film ''O, Brazen Age'' written and directed by Alexander Carson. The film premiered at the

Vancouver International Film Festival The Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) is an annual film festival held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, for two weeks in late September and early October. The festival is operated by the Greater Vancouver International Film Fest ...

in 2015.

Filmography

* 2007: ''Last Chance Saloon'' * 2008: ''Ghost Town'' * 2009: ''Liminal State of Decay'' * 2011: ''Not Far from the Abattoir'' * 2012: ''The Post'' * 2014: ''

The Valley Below ''The Valley Below'' is a Canadian dramatic film, released in 2014. The feature film debut of filmmaker Kyle Thomas,

'' * 2021: '' Range Roads''

References

External links

*
North Country Cinema official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Kyle 1983 births Living people 21st-century Canadian male actors Concordia University alumni Male actors from Calgary Male actors from Vancouver Canadian male screenwriters Film producers from Alberta Film producers from British Columbia Film directors from Calgary Film directors from Vancouver Writers from Calgary Writers from Vancouver